Food Nutrition Labels Mislead Parents

A British Heart Foundation (BHF) survey has found that 90% of mothers misunderstand nutrition labeling on children’s' foods.

The online survey of 1454 parents aged between 16-64 years old found that mother were likely to believe claims that said a food was "a source of calcium, iron and six vitamins."

"Mums are having the wool pulled over their eyes by food manufacturers," said Peter Hollins, BHF chief executive. "Smoke and mirror tactics means that foods targeted at children and high in fat, salt and sugar are being disguised with partial health claims suggesting they are a healthy choice."

For example, Nestle's Honey Shreddies, which claim to be wholegrain and to "keep your heart healthy and maintain a healthy body", has more sugar than a ring doughnut, while Kellogg's Coco Pops cereal and milk bar had a high amount of saturated far even though it claimed to be "a source of calcium, iron and six vitamins."

A spokesman for Kellogg's refuted these claims, "A Kellogg's Coco Pops Cereal and Milk bar actually contains less than two teaspoons of sugar per bar and has half the calories (84) and far less fat than a chocolate bar," he said. "Parents understand this because we give them the information they need, through our front-of-pack labelling, to make similar comparisons."




Source-Medindia
RAS